Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to 2013's first real game thread.
It's an unusual situation these Red Sox and Yankees find themselves in. The Red Sox are coming off their worst season in many years, the Yankees entering 2013 with many wondering if they've got the talent to compete in a stacked American League East.
We will, for the moment, ignore that doubting them only makes them more powerful.
For now, though, they're the only two teams in the game as far as we need to be concerned. It's Red Sox vs. Yankees in New Yankee Stadium. It's Opening Day, game one, and somebody has to win. For the Red Sox, it's a chance for Jon Lester to make a statement that 2013 is going to be different. It's a chance for Jackie Bradley Jr. and Will Middlebrooks to show what a difference they can make, and for free agent signings like Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino to prove they were worth the price.
More than anything, though, it's a chance for a good start. Over the last two years, the Sox have started 0-6 and 0-4. 1-0 would be worth a lot more than the one win it puts on the board.
For the first time this year:
Go Sox!